Psalms 129:1-3

Psalm 129 ¹ 

A song of ascents. ² 

129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”

let Israel say.

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.

129:3 The plowers plowed my back;

they made their furrows long.

Isaiah 51:23

51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ³ 

who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’

You made your back like the ground,

and like the street for those who walked over you.”

[129:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

[129:1]  ² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[51:23]  ³ tn That is, to make them drink it.